Edit 17/09/10
Movie is now confirmed, source Brianmay.com http://www.brianmay.com/whatsnew.html
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Taken from http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/198953/Queen-the-movie
IT is the rock ’n’ roll biopic that Hollywood has been desperate to make for years.
Now it finally looks as though the story of singer Freddie Mercury’s extraordinary life is about to hit the big screen after producers won over the surviving members of Queen.
Only now have guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, bassist John Deacon and manager Jim Beach relented and allowed the band’s music to be used in a movie about Freddie.
A source close to the project revealed: “As yet, the film hasn’t even got a title, but Hollywood has been flinging money at the band for years wanting to do a film about Freddie.
“You couldn’t do it without the music, however, and up until now they have always said no.”
Mercury, born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar, grew up to be the flamboyant front-man of one of the greatest stadium rock bands in history.
Queen’s breakthrough came in 1974, with the single The Seven Seas of Rhye. They went on to notch up 18 No 1 singles, including their ground breaking pop mini-operetta Bohemian Rhapsody, Another One Bites The Dust, I Want To Break Free, Killer Queen, Somebody To Love and It’s A Kind Of Magic.
They also sold 300 million albums, with 18 reaching No 1.
Mercury later admitted being gay, although he had a string of affairs with men and women first. By the time of Sir Bob Geldof’s Live Aid fund-raiser at Wembley Stadium in 1985, Mercury was on top of his game.
Three years later rumours began about his health because of his dramatic weight-loss. He only revealed that he had Aids in November 1991, the day before he died.
The script is set to be written by Peter Morgan (The Queen and Frost/Nixon).
The source added: “It is hoped to be released at the end of next year, 20th anniversary of Freddie’s death. The budget is huge.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
Edit 17/09/10
More news from across the pond hope this aint true!
Taken from http://www.deadline.com/2010/09/exclusive-sacha-baron-cohen-set-to-play-queen-singer-freddie-mercury-in-gk-film/
EXCLUSIVE: Whether it's Marvin Gaye, Janis Joplin, Phil Spector or a host of others, enough announced music pics stall that
it’s hard to find one worth worth getting excited about. Try this one: Sacha Baron Cohen has closed a deal to play Queen front man Freddie Mercury in a film that’s being scripted by Peter Morgan for a 2011 production start.
The untitled film will be financed by GK Films partners Graham King and Tim Headington, who'll produce in partnership with Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal’s Tribeca Productions, and Queen Films. Morgan is already working on a script focused on the band’s formative years, leading up to Queen’s appearance at Live Aid in 1985. Queen’s performance is considered one of the rock's all-time great live concert appearances.
A rights package has been set that includes the band’s tunes, including Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions , Another One Bites The Dust and You’re My Best Friend. It is unclear whether Baron Cohen will sing—I’m told he can sing—or whether Mercury’s vocals will be used. Nobody sang like Mercury, so trying to replicate him would be a tall order. These decisions will be made as a director gets hired. Mercury died November 24, 1991 of complications from AIDS. Though his death helped to remove the stigma of AIDS sufferers prevalent at that time and particularly in the rock music industry, Mercury’s last days won’t be the subject of the film.
.Baron Cohen is an intriguing choice. For one thing, he looks more like Mercury than any star I can think of. While Baron Cohen’s primarily a comic actor, he plays well-defined characters in films from Borat to Talladega Nights, Sweeney Todd and Bruno, and he’s currently starring in the 3D Martin Scorsese-directed drama Hugo Cabret,
also for GK Films. In April, Baron Cohen was the catalyst for a big bucks comedy pitch being written by Alec Berg, Jeff Schaffer and David Mandel. Paramount beat out others for a film, which calls for Baron Cohen to play dual roles of a goat herder and a deposed dictator who gets lost in the US.
It was an extravagant deal and the project is on a fast track. It’s unclear how timing factors into the Mercury film.
Morgan has become a go-to guy for prestige films based on real figures, from Frost/Nixon to The Queen (no relation), The Last King of Scotland and Damned United.His most recent script, Hereafter, made its premiere at the Toronto
International Film Festival last Sunday, with director Clint Eastwood and stars Matt Damon and Bryce Dallas Howard introducing the film at the Elgin Theater.
GK’s King confirmed the Queen deal: “Queen is one of the greatest rock bandsof all time, and a music brand all unto itself,” he said in a statement. “Freddie Mercury was an awe-inspiring performer, so with Sacha in the starring role coupled with Peter’s screenplay and the support of Queen, we have the perfect combination to tell the real storybehind their success.”
This is the first time the surviving members of Queen--Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon--have licensed songs and music publishing rights for a movie about the band and they formed Queen Films to be partof the production team on the film. They previously supplied their songs to We Will Rock You, the stage musical that has been running 9 years on London’s West End.
GK Films tomorrow opens the Ben Affleck-directed The Town through Warner Bros, and the Angelina Jolie-Johnny Depp thriller The Tourist opens December 10 through Columbia Pictures. Baron Cohen’s repped by WME and Morgan by UTA and UK-based Independent Talent Group.
Marknow